Method and apparatus for attaching buttons to fabrics.



F. A. MINER. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BUTTONS T0 FABRICS.APPLICATION FLED DEC.2 1, 1914.

1,140,4=74. Patented May 25, 191 5.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

lmvEnTom nanJmgkYQxnmn) F. A. MINER.

- METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BUTTONS T0 FABRICS. I

' APPLICATION HLED 050.24. 1914.

. 1,140,474, Patented May 25, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVEHTOI? Wmwu F A. MINER. METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BUTTONS T0FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED 050.24, 1914.

. 1,140,474. A v Patnted May 25,1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

-WITHE$$5 l I I lHvEnT'ore fromnsv 50 protruding through the slots asshown in Fig. 2.

ran snares Parana oration.

FRANK A. MINER, OF WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRBTOJOHN GREEN AN'D ONE-THIRD T0 R. J. BRACE, BOTH Q35 RONTIAC, MICHIGAN.

'METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BUTTO NS TO FABRIC-S.

macaw.

To all whom it may con cern:

Be it known that l, FRANK A. MINER. a citizen of the United States,residing at Windsor, county of Essex, Province of Ontario, Canada, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods and Apparatusfor Attaching Buttons to Fabrics, and declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to a method for fastening buttons to fabrics suchas overalls, jackets, and the like, and also to apparatus for carryingout the method.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a side View of. the machine, some of theparts being broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a detail invertical section, of the ringforming mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail ofthe same mechanism partly in vertical section and partly in elevation,the view being taken from a position 90 degrees to the right of theposition from which the view was taken in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side Viewof the devices for forming the ring, beingshown partly in verticalsection. This View also shows the selector device which allows thefeeding of one button at a time. Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross section ofthe mechanism for forming the ring. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of themachine showing more par ticularly the mechanism for forming the wirering. Fig. 8 is a rear elevation of the machine, part of the drivingpulley being sectioned, and a part being broken away.

' The machine consists of mechanism for feeding one button at a time,mechanism for thrusting the button shank through the fabric, mechanismfor forming the wire ring through the shank so as to hold the button,and mechanism for feeding the wire in measured quantities to thering-forming mechanism. 1 shall, therefore, describe these variousmechanisms in order.

The feeding mechanism may be a slotted, inclined trough a, the shanks01" the buttons 'lhese buttons come down in a line by gravity and theirshanks are always held Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 235, 11915.

Application filed December 24, 1914. Serial No. 878,846.

inthe same position by reason of the slots bemg too narrow to allow theshanks to slip through unless they are turned so that the directions oftheir greatest width are par allel with the slot. lhis line of buttonsmay be placed in the trough by hand or by automatic devices (not shown).There DB-r mg a number of automatic devices to accomplish this purpose,and the same being no essential part of my invention, 1 have not shownthis. Devices of this character are already well known in connectionwith riveting machines and the like.

The buttons come down until they meet the selector 2) (Fig. 5). Thiscomprises a pivoted rocking member having a hook at each end. Then thehook 0 is raised to let by the button which it restrains, the hook 5 atthe opposite end restrains the next following button, and when the hook0 rocks back to normal position, the hook cl is with drawn and allowsthe next following button to drop down against the hook 0. The thirdfollowing button (now the second one in the trough) is restrained fromgetting past the hook cl which is now raised by the reason of its headengaging with the head of the farthest advanced button and holding theshank in such spaced relation as seen in Fig. 5. It is evident that themechanism described has the result of selecting one button at a time andallowing it to be fed by gravity to the mechanism next to be described.

The mechanism for forcing the shank of the button through the fabriccomprises a plunger e provided at its top with a recess adapted toreceive the button as it slides down the trough. The plunger receivesthe button when in its lowermost position, as shown in the dotted linesof Fig. 1. Thereafter the rotation of the cam wheel f lifts the plungerto the position shown in Fig. 5. This is accomplished by the pin androller g, which are constrained to travel in the vertical slot in (Fig.7), and are caused to take this vertical movement by reason of therecesses being provided in both the die and the mandrel for thereception of the shank of the button (Fig. 6). The mandrel and die areheld in spaced relation by the ejector is (Fig. 3). The ejector is aclosed end cylinder slidable over the mandrel and provided with slots atits lower end which makes the lowerendo f the ejector in the form ofprongs. Referri to Fig. l it will be scen'that the ends the prongs areshaped to guide the Wire slightly downward in'i-ts-ficourse so that theend otthe aforementioned circle and then a spiral.

The recesses in the die and mandrel so positions the button shank thatthis circular path goes directly through the 'eye of the" shank.

\Vhen the proper length of the spiral 1s attained, the cutter m (Fig. 6)is reciprocated' and severs the wire of the upper coil of the spiral.The cutter reciprocateshorizontally through the die 71 and the dieholder and enters the recess shown in Fig. 6, cut in the mandrel. Thewire is sheared between the edge of the recess and the cutter end.

The cause of the reciprocation of the cutter end will be morefully setout hereinafter.

The wire is ejected from the die and mandrel by the reciprocation oftheejector la. The ejector is held in its extreme upper position by thecoil spring which is seated within its hollow interior and bears againstthe top of the mandrel (Fig. 3). The set screw n which protrudes betweentwo of the depending prongs of the ejector holds the mandrel. in place.This pin also serves to guide the ejector in a true vertical line.

feed roll and thereby the upper feed roll, a

measured number of degrees each time. The

upper feed roll 1) is journaled on the pivoted arm w. This pivoted arm wis yieldingly pressed down by the spiral spring a: engagmg between theend of the fixed pin y and the a m It is desirable to have this pressureupon the upper feed roll to provide the proper friction to preventslipping of the wire. ire hasa very small surface to grip and hence thefriction must be high. The measured actuation of the lever u will bemore fully explained hereinafter.

The various movements are btained as follows: .2 designates the drivingpulley which is continuously rotated during the operation of themachine. 1 is a link connecting with a pedal (not shown). By pulling.this link which is guided by brackets 2, 2, .the spring pressed pawl 3,which engages with the endof the arm i,

causes -the one end of the arm .to be depressed, thcreby raising theother endof the arm. Now refer to li'ig. 2. The key 5 is thereuponforced into a recess 6 of the collar 7 that is attached to the drivingpulley 2. This operatively connects the driving pinion 8 with thecontinuously rotating pulley a. The pinion 8 meshes with the large gear9 which has attached thereto a cam 10. The arm 4 has fastened thereto atsubstantially right angles what might be termed a heavy tail 11 whichtends to keep the beveled end of the arm in normal engagement withthesliding key to keep the pinion 8 and the collar 7 out of connection.This tail'll rides .on the cam surface of the cam 10. When the end ofthe arm l is depressed by the operation of'the pedal, so'as to raise thebeveled end otthe arm from the key, the pinion and pulley collar Theejector is depressed to eject the finished are immediately connected,and this starts 'The mechanism for feeding the wire and pushing itthrough the die and mandrel comprises an upper and lower grooved feedroll p and g respectively (Figs' 1 and 2). Each grooved feed roll isprovided with a gear portiqn, and the two gear portions inter-mesh tegive the two feed rolls a positive connection. The lower feed rollg isthe driving roll and it is driven by means of a pawl 1' engaging withthe ratchet teeth a which are apart of the lower feed roll. The pawl 1'is carried upon the oscillating arm at. which is journaledcn the sameshaft that journals the lower feed roll. This oscillating arm t is.connected with the pivoted lever u by means of the l nk 1). Hence, bygiving measured oscillation to the rotation of the pinion and throughthe pinion the gear 9. The tail 11 is then caused to ride up thehighersurface. of the cam so that although the pressure'on the pedal isremoved, the beveled end of the arm 4 is keptout of engagemertwith thepin until the lower surface of the cam is again reached. Thereupon thearm 4 is dropped down between the collar and pinion, and when the key.again comes around, the beveled end of the arm l will cause the key tobe retracted'from the collar and thereby stop the running of themachine. The gear wheel 9 has now just completed one revolution.

through the shaft to the large cam f on the end of the shaft. Next tothe large cam f is located a small cam 1 t, which will be termed thecutter-actuating cam. By operating the rock lever 15 this cam forces thecutter m inward to cut the wire. This movement is made against theexpansive forces of the spring 16. Consequently when the high part ofthe cam '14 ceases to wipe the end of the rock lever 15, the cutterimmediately is retracted by the spring 16. On the inside of the shaftjournal 18 is located another small cam 17, W rich at the proper timewith its high portion wipes the end of the vertical rod 19, therebylifting this. This rod 19 is held to the surface of the cam by gravity.provided with a cross bar 21, one end of which engages under the rockarm 0, the other end Of \\l1l0l1 engages in the slotted end of theselector 2). Consequently when this vertical rod is lifted, the ejectoris de pressed to eject the completed ring, and the plunger 0 having beenpreviously depressed by the low part of the cam race of the cam f comingopposite the slot h and the roller,

the operation of the selectorallows another button to drop into therecess in the lower plunger 6, and the apparatus is ready for repeatingthe operation. The machine operator must now shift the fabric to theposition where another button isdesired, or of courseit might bepossible to devise automatic means for this purpose.

Attached to the pivoted lever u is a roller 22, which runs on the faceof What will be termed the feed operating cam This cam is properly timedby its position on the shaft 12 so that after the raising of the shankof the button between the dies and the mandrel, it forces the lever itforward, thereby measurably rotating the lower feed roll 9. Thepullspring 2 L keeps the roller yieldingly against the face of the cam23 and returns the lever u w ion the low parts of the cam come adjacentto the roller 22. The retraction. of the rock lever 10 may be adjustedby the adjusting screw 25. By preventing the pivoted lever from beingcompletely retracted so that the roller will bear against the lovrestpart of the cam the length of the spiral may be shortened for thelengthof wire feed is shortened.

What I claim is:

1. The method of fastening buttons with eye-shanks to a fabric,comprising the thrusting of the eye of the button through the fabric andthe forming of a ring through the eye of the button.

2. The method of fastening buttons with eye-shanks to a fabric,comprising the thrusting of the shank of the button through the fabric,and the forming of a split or spiral ring through the eye.

3. The method of fastening buttons hav- The upper end of the rod 19 1s.

ing eyeshanks upon a fabric, comprising the thrusting of the buttonshank through the fabric, and the pushing and guiding of a Wirethroughnthe eye of the shank and through the eye of the button shank andproperly guiding it to form a split ring or spiral, then cutting thewire to complete the split ring or spiral.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of mechanism forfeeding buttons having eye-shanks one at a time, mechanism for thrustingthe shank of the button through a fabric, mechanism for forming a splitring or spiral through the eye of the shank, and mechanism for feedingthe wire to such forming mechanism.

6. ln apparatus of the class describedpthe combination of mechanism forfeeding buttons having eye-shanks, one at a time, mechanism forthrusting. the shank of the button through a fabric, and mechanism forform ing a split ring or spiral through the eye of the shank.

7. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of mechanism forthrusting the shank of a button having an eye-shank through a piece offabric and mechanism for forming a split ring or spiral ring through theeye of the shank.

8. In apparatus of the class described, the

combination of mechanism for thrusting an eye-shank.of a button througha fabric, mechanism for guiding a traveling wire through the eye of theshank and into a spiral, and a cutter for cutting the split ring at adetermined point of the spiral.

9. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of mechanism forthrusting an eye-shank of a button through a fabric,

means for guiding a traveling wire through the eye of the shank and intoa spiral, a.

cutter for cutting off a split ring at a determined point in thespirahand means for ejecting the completed split ring from the guidingmeans. 7 i i 10. In apparatus of [the class described, the combinationof meclianism for thrusting an eye-shank of a button through a fabric,and a die and mandrel into which the button shank is forced by thethrusting mechanism and Which. are adapted to guide a traveling wirethrough. the eye of the button shank and into a spiral.

11. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of mechanismfor thrust-- ing the shank of a button through a fabric, a mandrel anddie between which the button shank is forced by the thrusting mechanismand adapted to guide a traveling, wire into a spiral. through the eye ofthe shank, and

12. In apparatus of the class described,

means for thrusting the shank of an eye a.

shank button through a fabric, a die and mandrel between which theeye-shank is forced by the thrusting"mechanism and which are adapted toguide a moving wire into a spiral, and means for'cutting said spiral toform a completed split ring.

13. In apparatus of the class described,

the combination of means for thrusting the shank of an eye-shank buttonthrough a" fabric, a mandrel and die between which the shank is forcedby the thrusting mechanism and which are adapted to guide a wire into aspiral and through the eye of the shank, a cutter reciprocating in themandrel and the die to cut the spiral into a split ring, and means forejecting the split-ring from the mandrel and die.

14. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forthrusting the shank of an eye-shank button through a fabric, a 'die, amandrel therein, an ejector slidable between the die and mandrel, thesaid mandrel and die being arranged to guide a wire through the shankeyev and into a spiral, a cutter for cutting the spiral to form a splitring, a springffor yieldingly holding the ejector pressed away from thering, and means for reciprocating the ejector to eject the completedsplit ring from the,

mandrel and die.

, 15. In apparatus of the class the combination of a button chute foreyeshank buttons, a plunger provided with a recess to receive thebuttons, a selector for allowing only one button at a time to bereceivedby the plunger, means for reciproeating the plunger to thrustthe button shank through a fabric, and means for forming a split ringthrough the eye of the but ton shank on the farther side of the fabric.16. In apparatus of the class'described,

the combination of a button chute for eyeshank buttons,

a selector to allow only one button at a described,

time to be ejected from the lower end fastened to said plunger, aslotted guide,

for vertically guidingthe plunger, a cam disk provided with a circularrace in which said roller runs, said cam disk being adapted to raise theplunger to thrust the shank of the button through a fabric, and meansfor forming a split ring through the eye of the button shank on thefarther side of the fabric.

17. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forthrusting the shank of an eye-shank button through a fabric, a die,v amandrel within the die, an ejector slidable between the die and themandrel, the said mandrel and die being arranged to guide a wire throughthe shank eye'and into a spirahend a cutter for cut. ting the spiral toform a split ring.

18. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of means forthrusting the shank of an eyeshank button through a fabric, a die, amandrel Within the die, means for feeding and guiding a wire between themandrel and the die to form a spiral, an ejector slidable between thedie and the mandrel, the said ejector being provided with a downwardlysloping end to guide the coil of the spiral under the Wire incomingbetween the mandrel and the die, and a cutter for cutting the spiral toform a split ring.

19. Inapparatus of the class described, the combination of means forthrusting the shank of an eye-shank button through a fabric, means forfeeding the wire, means for guiding said wire into a spiral through theeye of the shank, means for cutting the spiral for the purpose offorming a ring and means for adjusting the feed action alter the lengthof the spiral.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of twoWitnesses.

FRANK A. MINER.

